Blog

Earlier this month, National Domestic Workers Alliance and CPD held a weeklong retreat that kicked off an 18 month program called the Basebuilders Innovation Group (Get BIG!) to bolster the...

Earlier this month, National Domestic Workers Alliance and CPD held a weeklong retreat that kicked off an 18 month program called the Basebuilders Innovation Group (Get BIG!) to bolster the organizing capacity and internal infrastructure of NDWA affiliates and create the foundation from which they can increase the scale of their organizing.

Throughout the week, CPD and NDWA guided selected NDWA affiliates through a variety of organizing models, brought together organizers for training and to learn with one another, and provided critical resources and technology infrastructure such as a text message alert system and database to support affiliates. CPD led discussions around the pending immigration reform and how groups could use this moment to not only provide information and services but also to increase the size of their base. CPD also helped the groups think about how they could use technology to help them manage and organize the large numbers of people that could be seeking their assistance once immigration reform passes.

CPD will continue to be a core partner on the project in the coming months, working with NDWA and its affiliates to evaluate the base-building opportunities emerging from immigration reform and develop the technological capacity and internal workflows to serve the thousands of new individuals who will be coming to affiliates’ doors seeking assistance related to legalization; and, ultimately, leverage new technologies and systems to connect thousands of immigrants and workers to the NDWA membership, wrap-around services and advocacy efforts.

Earlier this week, the New York City Council committed $500,000 to pilot a universal deportation defense system for immigrant New Yorkers who are facing removal and cannot afford a lawyer. The...

Earlier this week, the New York City Council committed $500,000 to pilot a universal deportation defense system for immigrant New Yorkers who are facing removal and cannot afford a lawyer. The funding commitment is a direct response to advocacy by CPD and our partners, the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the Immigration Justice Clinic at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, as part of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (“NYIFUP”) – a campaign to guarantee counsel for immigrants facing deportation statewide. This funding is a critical first step for NYIFUP's long-term success providing free counsel to individuals at risk of deportation across New York State. It also makes New York City the first place in the country to commit to providing counsel to immigrants facing deportation.

We are optimistic that this initial grant will help unlock funds from other sources—either to expand the pilot’s coverage or to implement the full system further down the line. We can't wait to share what we learn through this pilot project and make the case for a larger program.

The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act will have a real and detrimental impact on voters. It behooves Congress to expeditiously revise the law to...

The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act will have a real and detrimental impact on voters. It behooves Congress to expeditiously revise the law to protect voters of color and address the persistent threat of racial discrimination.

But cities also have a key role to play in expanding voting rights. Tomorrow, at 2:00 pm eastern / 11:00 am pacific, please join leading experts in a national webinar and strategy session to discuss the creative reforms that cities can take to strengthen democracy by:

- reducing the influence of corporate money on government by implementing public financing of local elections;

- ensuring that more eligible voters are registered and turn out to vote; and

- granting non-citizens and 16- and 17-year olds the right to vote in local elections.

The webinar is hosted by Local Progress and the Leadership Center for the Common Good. (CPD is a founding organizational partner of Local Progress). You can RSVP here. We have an all-star lineup featuring:

- Amy Loprest, executive director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, which manages the city’s system of publicly-financed campaigns for city council and mayor.

- Councilmember Tim Male (Takoma Park, MD), chief sponsor of the recent law to grant 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in local elections.

- State Senator Jamie Raskin (Montgomery Co., MD), constitutional law professor at American University, champion of voting rights, and author of non-citizen voting law in Takoma Park, Maryland.

- Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice and an expert on voter registration modernization and campaign finance reform.

Congratulations to our partners at PCUN for their work to win Oregon’s “Safe Roads Bill” (SB 833), granting countless undocumented immigrants access to driver’s cards and insurance. Four years ago...

Congratulations to our partners at PCUN for their work to win Oregon’s “Safe Roads Bill” (SB 833), granting countless undocumented immigrants access to driver’s cards and insurance. Four years ago, Oregon ceased issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and SB 833’s passage marks a victory for a broad coalition of bipartisan legislators, civic leaders, and community organizations.

The bill “directs Department of Transportation to issue a driver card to any applicant who does not provide proof of legal presence in United States but otherwise has complied with all requirements and has resided in Oregon more than one year.”

We look forward to working with PCUN and other partners across the country to drive forward state-based policies that provide greater equality and inclusion for immigrants.

Early this morning the New York City Council passed two bills designed to guarantee safety and respect for all New Yorkers. The End Discriminatory NYPD Profiling Act and the Independent NYPD...

Early this morning the New York City Council passed two bills designed to guarantee safety and respect for all New Yorkers. The End Discriminatory NYPD Profiling Act and the Independent NYPD Oversight Act both passed with veto-proof majorities, strengthening the existing ban on profiling by the police and establishing independent oversight of the City’s Police Department.

The passage of these bills reflects a growing alarm over NYPD policies and practices that violate the rights of thousands of New Yorkers and undermine police-community relationships. Practices such as the discriminatory use of stop and frisk use tactics that threaten safety and erode quality of life for countless African-American, Latino, Muslim, immigrant, homeless and LGBTQ and other New Yorkers, while wasting valuable public dollars. CPD provided critical legal and strategic support to Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the dynamic citywide coalition advocating for the bills.

“Today, we are striking a blow against a practice which has become a perverse right of passage for all young men of color in the City of New York,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Brooklyn).

In passing these bills, the New York City Council ensures historic policy changes that demand safety, dignity, and respect for ALL New Yorkers. We commend the City Council for putting community safety first.

Download the report
In New York City, hundreds of car wash workers are mobilizing to raise their wages, improve working conditions, and gain dignity on the job.
This spring, CPD co-authored a...

Download the report

In New York City, hundreds of car wash workers are mobilizing to raise their wages, improve working conditions, and gain dignity on the job.

This spring, CPD co-authored a report that highlights the low wages and rough conditions at car washes owned by John Lage, the largest operator in NYC.

The report, titled “The Car Wash Kingpin’ – John Lage and the Poor Conditions in New York City’s Car Wash Industry,” compares the annual multi-million dollar revenue that Lage receives from his businesses with the meager wages that he pays to his employees.

The Center for Popular Democracy joined the AFL-CIO earlier this month to coordinate a national summit of car wash worker organizing campaigns from around the country. Car wash campaigns are...

The Center for Popular Democracy joined the AFL-CIO earlier this month to coordinate a national summit of car wash worker organizing campaigns from around the country. Car wash campaigns are forging dynamic and innovative new partnerships with labor unions in their quest to support low-wage workers’ struggle for fair economic treatment, dignity and respect.

The summit brought together leaders of each of the four car wash organizing campaigns in Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Fe, and New York. For the first time, car wash organizers were able to engage in joint analysis and discussion of their strategies, tactics, models, and research.

We would like to extend a very big thank you to our friends at the RWDSU for hosting the event, and to all of the participating organizations: the United Steelworkers, CLEAN LA, the AFL-CIO, Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, ARISE and KIWA.

At the end of February, under the umbrella of Minnesotans for a Fair Economy (MFE), unions, community groups, faith-based organizations and workers' centers engaged in a series of coordinated civil...

At the end of February, under the umbrella of Minnesotans for a Fair Economy (MFE), unions, community groups, faith-based organizations and workers' centers engaged in a series of coordinated civil actions for workers' rights, aimed at major banks and corporations headquartered in Minneapolis. To support and learn from the campaign, CPD sent its lead organizer for economic justice to work closely with Take Action Minnesota, one of our partner organizations in the region.

In an impressive display of coordination and solidarity, janitors, subcontracted cleaners, and security workers went on strike one after the other. Demonstrations at Target stores were followed by civil disobedience at Wells Fargo branches and actions at Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce. Worker demands ranged from improvements to Minnesota’s health care exchange, an end to discriminatory hiring practices at Target, and an end to mortgage foreclosures by Wells Fargo.

Take Action Minnesota, a core member of the MFE coalition, focused its efforts on the discriminatory hiring practices at Target which prevent formerly incarcerated people from securing employment. In the past year, Take Action Minnesota has won a series of impressive policy victories as a result of its campaigns. CPD is proud to have participated in this campaign and we are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Take Action Minnesota in their fight for improved conditions for working Minnesotans.

This week Governor Cuomo signed a state budget which includes an increase in New York State’s minimum wage, from $7.25 per hour to $9.00 per hour over three years. Over 1.5 million workers in New...

This week Governor Cuomo signed a state budget which includes an increase in New York State’s minimum wage, from $7.25 per hour to $9.00 per hour over three years. Over 1.5 million workers in New York will see increases in their paychecks totaling over $1 billion in additional earnings.

The Center for Popular Democracy is proud to have been a major partner in the coalition of labor, business, community, faith and policy organizations from across the state which lead this successful campaign. The coalition fought back the New York State Senate’s attempt to exclude tipped workers from the minimum wage increase, and to create a sub-minimum wage for workers under the age of 20.

In the final weeks, the coalition won a commitment from Governor Cuomo to use the Department of Labor “wage board” process to give tipped food service workers – who will not see an automatic increase under the budget deal – a badly-needed raise.

Unfortunately, the budget deal also included the creation of an unwarranted and wasteful tax subsidy to low-wage employers. The campaign will now turn to fighting for the removal of this tax subsidy.

CPD would like to thank the National Employment Law Project, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, SEIU 32BJ, Strong Economy for All, Make the Road New York, as well as Assembly Speaker Silver and Governor Cuomo for their leadership on this important issue.

From 2005-2010, more than 7,000 U.S. citizen children in New York City lost a parent to deportation. For most of these families, deportation proceedings meant losing not only a loved one, but also a...

From 2005-2010, more than 7,000 U.S. citizen children in New York City lost a parent to deportation. For most of these families, deportation proceedings meant losing not only a loved one, but also a breadwinner.

In the wake of deportation, many remaining family members struggle to make ends meet, placing additional pressure on public support programs and, in the worst cases, leading to the placement of children in foster care. The estimated cost to NYC’s foster care system, for example, is $12.6 million a year.

To keep families together, CPD in partnership with the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR), and with the support of Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law School is advocating for the creation of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP).

NYIFUP would be the nation’s first government-funded deportation defense system, providing a system of representation for all New Yorkers who are detained and facing removal.

With NYIFUP, institutional legal service providers would be resourced to assist the estimated 2,800 New Yorkers who face permanent exile from their homes and families each year.

In time, NYIFUP would become a model for other jurisdictions that value immigrant families and want to end the destruction of local communities through mass deportation.

CPD Impact

Nov 2016: During 2016, the Federal Reserve made an historic shift in how it makes the most important economic decisions in the country. For the first time they are taking into account low-income communities of color. For the past 100 years the Fed has been dominated by white, male, corporate executives who have cared little about building an economy that works for everyone.